A bitten back whimper preceded the young girl being tossed to the ground by her hair. The boy standing over her now with a curled fist glared down on her as she lay in the dirt without argument. "Get up!" he demanded, his expression one of deep contempt. When she didn't comply, he growled and kicked dirt into her face. She raised a hand to protect her eyes, though some sand had managed to find their way to them regardless. With eyes squeezed shut, she trembled on the ground while the other kids around her pointed and laughed. "Get up, freak!" the boy demanded again.
Another kid stepped forward to put a hand on his friend's arm. "Just leave her. She's a freak."
The boy sneered, mean eyes glowering down at her after shaking the other boy's hand away. "You hear that? You're nothing but a freak!" He reached down to pick up her tattered backpack, only to toss it in a nearby puddle. Too frightened to retrieve it, she remained unmoving in the dirt.
Wolf rushed towards the boy and his band of followers, snapping his jaws at them. His hot breath was at their necks while I rushed to the girl. It was the same story. I've only been a Guardian for a few days and I've floundered like a fish out of water the entire time. If kids didn't believe in me, how was I supposed to protect them? It was a frustrating cycle, but still I tried.
"It's okay," I whispered to her. "It's okay. They aren't as scary as they think they are. You've just got to stand up to them once. Look them right in the eyes and tell them to stop." Wolf returned to my side, lowering his massive weight to the ground beside the girl. He sniffed at her hair before lifting his head to play sentinel should the group of children decide to return.
The girl finally raised her head, doe brown eyes wide with anxiety. She rubbed at her eyes with her arm, blinking away tears from the sand until all of it was flushed out. Her eyes were rimmed with red and looked painful.
Her name was Melena. The others treated her cruelly, I found, because she was mute. It was a silly reason, I knew, but children could be horribly mean when it came to people they didn't understand. Besides that, she was also adopted. A fatal car accident had taken her parents – as well as her will to speak – and now she lived in a foster home. Though the family was incredibly kind, they suffered their own frustrations with trying to connect to the closed off orphan.
Melena picked herself up out of the dirt, looking down at her scabbed knees and dirty school uniform. Her lip trembled once before she bit it. My heart broke for her. I felt utterly useless. My job was to protect the children of the world. I couldn't even help this one child in front of me! She found enough strength of mind to retrieve her now dripping backpack, though once she opened it to see her homework soaked through, she rubbed at her eyes hard as if to fight away more tears.
I stood, my hand reaching out to her. It passed through her shoulder unnoticed and I curled it back to my chest with frustration. It was official. I was the worst Guardian in existence. Wolf stood as the girl began to trudge home with her skinned knees, soaked bag, and stinging eyes. He nudged his muzzle beneath my arm until he'd forced my hand onto his head. Absently, I scratched between his ears for a moment before trailing along behind Melena like a ghost.
Above, the sun was already falling fast and night was coming on quickly. Her foster mother would be at the door waiting for Melena, wringing her hands with worry. She'd see the state of the child and ask what happened. No answer would be forthcoming. The same heartache the mother would feel resonated within myself. Above all things, I wanted to help.
I saw to it that Melena made it home safely and watched the exchange between woman and child. It went as expected. Still, I hung around the house. Moving around back, I sat on the swings of a small jungle gym Melena's foster family had put in for her. Wolf lay down at the base of the slide, his amber eyes tracking me as I moved backwards and forwards. I watched the sun set in the west until the sun was swallowed up by clouds close to the horizon.
When the first stars began twinkling above and the lights went off in the house, I jolted at the sound of a metal trashcan being knocked over. Wolf bounded to his paws, a snarl rumbling past his curled lips while I stood to peer into the darkness. I felt my heart beat like a trapped bird, but didn't back away. Bunny and North had taught me a few tricks after my…transformation into one of them, so I held my fists up at the ready.
A pair of golden eyes blinked to life in the shadows and I stiffened. The sound of a snort brought chills to my spine as it had for years of my life before I became a Guardian. I felt grateful for the olive hoodie that covered my arms and kept my reaction to the nightmare's presence mostly hidden. The creature shook its head, those golden eyes blazing of tainted sand. With Wolf beside me, it thought twice of lunging at me. However, its head craned around to look at the second story window facing us: Melena's room.
"Don't even think about it," I growled. While I may not have been able to protect her from bullies and help her stand up for herself, I definitely could handle this part of the job.
The nightmare gave a frustrated whinny, turning its bright gaze back to me while pawing angrily at the ground and leaving thick gouges in the softened earth. Wolf stepped closer to it, his ears and tail erect while his fur bristled with fury. Without waiting for the black sand creature to make a move, I launched onto Wolf's back and began our assault.